Eagle Strategies LLC Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 66.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,925 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,584 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).